Local mayors, the High Sheriff, the Lord Lieutenant and MP Mark Williams joined Rev. Ian Girling and the crew of Aberystwyth lifeboat for the dedication

A NEW LIFEBOAT for Aberystwyth was dedicated in Holy Trinity Church on Sunday morning, the first time a lifeboat has been dedicated inside a place of worship.

The £9,000 Arancia inshore rescue boat, which has been on station since December, was present at the front of the service attended by crew members, dignitaries and members of the public.

Rev. Ian Girling, Vicar of Holy Trinity, blessed the boat, which will work alongside the existing Atlantic 85 class Spirit of Friendship.

The Arancia is the mainstay of the RNLI Flood Rescue Teams and can be deployed locally if necessary. It is an established member of the RNLI fleet, introduced in 2001 for use by lifeguards.

Around half of the lifeboat’s crew are ex-students, and keeping up the tradition were Emily Pennifold, a history PhD student, and Nathan Thomas, a geography PhD student.

About the RNLI

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is the charity that saves lives at sea. Volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland from 236 lifeboat stations, including four along the River Thames and four inland lifeboat stations.

Additionally the RNLI has more than 1,000 lifeguards on over 180 beaches around the UK and operates a specialist flood rescue team, which can respond anywhere across the UK and Ireland when inland flooding puts lives at risk.

The RNLI relies on public donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. As a charity it is separate from, but works alongside, government-controlled and funded coastguard services. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824 our lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved at least 139,000 lives.

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